


Bystander Observations

by Vipersweb (Rhianona)



Series: Tags to Eureka [1]
Category: Eureka
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-07-16
Updated: 2010-07-16
Packaged: 2017-10-10 14:25:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/100762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rhianona/pseuds/Vipersweb
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tag to episode 4x01 -- Founder's Day</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bystander Observations

Zane looks over the top of his magazine as Deputy Lupo crashes out of the Sheriff's office as fast as she can, looking like her heart has been broken. He shakes his head and wonders what — and how much — she has had to drink this morning. Wishes she had offered him some of it.

It's been three years since he had returned to Eureka and found a new home inside the jail. Not by choice, but crime really doesn't pay. He sometimes wishes he hadn't bothered to return because as much as the Sheriff and, to a lesser extent, Lupo try to make his cell homey, at the end of the day, he's still incarcerated.

He snaps his magazine shut — it's the fourth time he's read through it so it's not like he's missing much — and lies back down, hands pillowed beneath his head. Lupo had sure looked beautiful, even in that ugly old-fashioned Army uniform. He wishes she would smile more — it lit up her face.

He snorts at his line of thinking and wonders if her comment has really gotten to him. As if the two of them would ever date, never mind marry. She can't stand him and nine times out of ten, ignores what he says. Lupo cares about her guns and the law and little else.

He should know — he's watched her enough these last three years.

**

Tess doesn't regret turning down the job offer to Australia. Sure, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but GD isn't that shabby either. She's not the director anymore, but Allison has given her her own lab and she has decent funding, so she's happy.

Besides, she has Jack now. He looks stunned — and stunning — in his old-fashion uniform, which as she takes a closer look, seems to be a mishmash of Army uniform and civilian jacket. She shakes her head as she hands him a beer that S.A.R.A.H. pours.

"What happened to your jacket?" she asks with a nod of her head towards his body.

"Uh? What?" Jack asks and looks confused.

"Your jacket. That's a civilian jacket, but you're wearing an Army uniform," she says.

"Oh, right," Jack mumbles. "Um… Fargo?" he finally says as if that answers the question and sadly, it does.

"Well, I'm going to go change. Want to help me get cleaned up?" She starts to frown at the panicked look he gets on his face. She's never seen it before, at least not directed towards her.

"Hey, you okay?" she asks as he backs into one of the walls.

"Uh… yeah, yeah, Tess. I'm just… you know," he says and has that goofy smile on his face that she loves so much. He also looks a bit panicked. Maybe the beer will help him relax? "Lots to do. Fargo and Allison want extra security on the square and Jo's in a bit of a temper."

She nods and reaches out to clasp his shoulder. "Okay. Just… if you need me for something, I'm here." She stands on her tip toes and busses his mouth with her own before heading upstairs to shower and change. She knows something is wrong with her lover but figures he'll tell her eventually.

**

Kevin scurries to Dre's house, happy that his mom didn't make him change into some costume for Founder's Day. He would much rather play X-Box with Dre than dress in old clothes and pretend he's interested in the relics they've dragged out of the museum.

As he runs down the block, bypassing others dressed up for Founder's Day, he wonders if his mom is okay. She looked a bit scared as she had rushed into the house and looked at him as if she'd seen a ghost. His lips twist into a smile. Eureka doesn't need anything else to make it strange — ghosts might just put them over the edge.

Still, it worries him as much as he doesn't want to admit it. Mom has always been protective of him and it had gotten worse since his step-dad had decided to go and teach at Stanford for the semester. He keeps trying to break free from her restrictions and has even asked Sheriff Carter and Doctor Fontaine to speak to her. The Sheriff tells him that it's normal and that his mom just doesn't want him to grow up too fast.

He reaches Dre's house and rings the doorbell before letting himself inside. Dre's already set up the game system and has snacks and drinks set out for them to eat. "Hey, man," Dre raises a hand in greeting, already engrossed in a game.

And with that, Kevin loses interest in his mom and her issues and focuses on beating Dre's high score.

He's a teenage boy, after all and adults make no sense.

**

Grace watches as Henry makes a beeline to where Allison Blake stands with Jack and Deputy Lupo. Watches as they huddle together, heads bent together and clearly worried about something.

It makes her frown, especially when she sees how they welcome Fargo to their little group, but freeze and disband as soon as Tess walks up to them. Jack looks a bit uncomfortable as Tess weaves her arm through his and drags him onto the dance floor. Grace wouldn't think twice about it except Henry's been acting strange and she heard the most curious rumor earlier today.

About how Allison Blake had run up to Sheriff Carter and he had swept her into a hug. How the two of them looked like they were about to kiss before Henry, Deputy Lupo, and Fargo had run up to them. How they had all split up soon afterwards, running towards home. How Jo Lupo had scrambled out of the Sheriff's Department looking like her heart had been broken.

And she thinks back to her interactions with her husband this day and knows something is not right. When Henry had come into the shop this afternoon, he had looked at her as if she were a stranger, as if he couldn't understand why she was there. As if she didn't have a right to be there.

He looked at his wedding ring the same way.

Grace wants to believe that nothing is wrong… but she can't lie to herself.

_/fin_


End file.
